• S&P 500 and Dow Jones suffered their worst performance YTD and the Nasdaq Comp. finished in a bear market.
• APAC stocks were seen lower overnight and US equity futures extended on losses; ES -0.7%.
• The Euro Stoxx 50 future is down 2.4% after the cash market closed down 1.2% and in bear market territory yesterday.
• Ukraine said talks with Russia led to small positive developments, but there were no significant results on a truce or ceasefire.
• EU will unveil a plan on Tuesday to reduce gas imports from Russia by two-thirds within a year, according to the FT.
• DXY held above 99.00, EUR/USD languishes beneath 1.09, Cable found support at 1.31, AUD lags in the G10 space.
• Looking ahead, highlights include German Industrial Output, EZ GDP (Revised), Speech from RBA's Lowe, Supply from Germany & US, EIA STEO.

US TRADE

• US stocks finished lower in which the S&P 500 and Dow Jones suffered their worst performance YTD and the Nasdaq Comp. finished in a bear market.
• S&P 500 -2.9% at 4,202, Nasdaq 100 -3.8% at 13,319, Dow Jones -2.4% at 32,817, Russell 2000 -2.5% at 1,951.

NOTABLE US HEADLINES

• US President Biden's administration is planning to give preference to infrastructure projects that encourage workers to unionize or that hire from underrepresented groups, according to WSJ citing admin officials.

GEOPOLITICS

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

NEGOTIATIONS

• Ukrainian negotiator said talks with Russia led to small positive developments in terms of humanitarian corridors, but there were no significant results on a truce or ceasefire and talks will continue. Furthermore, talks did not lead to a result that significantly improves the situation.
• Ukrainian President Zelenskiy ruled out any agreement that would compromise the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to Washington Post.
• Ukrainian Foreign Minister said Ukraine wants direct talks between President Zelenskiy and Russian President Putin as they know President Putin makes the decisions.

DEFENCE/MILITARY

• Russian President Putin said they will only use professional soldiers in its Ukraine operation and will not use conscript soldiers in Ukraine.
• Russia plans to introduce humanitarian corridors from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernigov, Sumy, and Mariupol, according to Ria.
• Ukrainian Interior Ministry official said 4000 people still need to be evacuated from the Kyiv outskirts and said Russia is doing all it can to prevent humanitarian corridors.
• US Department of Defense said Russia hasn't made any notable progress in its invasion in the past few days in the North and Northeast.
• EU Commission VP Dombrovskis says that Russia President Putin is likely to increase his military ambitions and challenge NATO in Baltic Sea nations, unless Putin is stopped in Ukraine, via Politico; additionally, Dombrovskis was sceptical about diplomatic overtures towards Putin and maintained that nothing should be off the table re. sanctions.

ENERGY/ECONOMIC UPDATES

• EU will unveil a plan on Tuesday to reduce gas imports from Russia by two-thirds within a year, according to FT.
• White House Press Secretary said US President Biden has not made a decision on a ban on Russian oil imports but discussions are continuing internally and stated that President Biden will do everything he can on gasoline prices. US House Majority Leader Hoyer said a bill to ban Russian oil imports could be introduced this week.
• Russian Deputy PM Novak stated that a ban on Russian oil would result in catastrophic consequences for the global market and said Europe is pushing towards an embargo on gas deliveries through Nord Stream 1, but they have not taken this decision yet. Novak added that an embargo on Russian oil could push prices over USD 300/bbl.
• US House is to vote on removing trade relations with Russia and Belarus and on banning oil imports as soon as Tuesday, according to a congressional aide.
• Ukrainian leaders are expected to send a letter to US Congress asking the US to ban from the stock market all companies that pay taxes to Russia’s government, according to WaPo citing a letter.
• Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno announced that Japan banned exports of oil refining equipment to Russia, while Japan imposed personal sanctions on another 20 Russian citizens and 12 Belarusian citizens, according to Sputnik.

OTHER THIRD-PARTY REMARKS/NEWS

• US President Biden, UK PM Johnson, German Chancellor Scholz, and French President Macron affirmed in a call their determination to continue raising costs on Russia for its unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine.
• French President Macron doesn't think there will be a solution to the Ukraine crisis through negotiations in the coming days and weeks.
• UK MPs support a package of sanctions to toughen government powers and speed up sanctions against Russian tycoons.

FUND/SOVEREIGN ACTION

• MSCI said it is to discontinue certain indexes following the reclassification of Russia.
• Fitch decided to suspend commercial operations in Russia with immediate effect, while it downgraded Belarus from B to CCC.

OTHER

• Iranian Foreign Ministry said Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov stated during a call with the Iranian Foreign Minister that Moscow supports Tehran's logical demands in nuclear talks.

APAC TRADE

EQUITIES

• APAC stocks declined amid headwinds from global peers as geopolitical and supply concerns remain centre stage.
• ASX 200 was led lower by weakness in commodity-related sectors including energy after oil prices receded from highs.
• Nikkei 225 fell below the 25k level for the first time since November 2020.
• Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp. were subdued but with losses in Hong Kong cushioned by some reprieve for big tech, while the mainland was pressured on developer woes after Yuzhou Property defaulted on an interest payment.
• US equity futures extended on losses overnight following Wall St’s worst performance YTD.
• European equity futures are indicative of a negative open with the Euro Stoxx 50 future down 3% after the cash market closed down 1.2% in bear market territory yesterday.

FX

• DXY held above 99.00 after recent advances which were fuelled by higher yields amid an inflationary impulse.
• EUR/USD languished beneath 1.0900 but was off the prior day's lows.
• GBP/USD was contained near a trough at 1.3100.
• USD/JPY remained underpinned by recent yield differentials.
• Antipodeans eventually weakened in late trade despite the improvement in NAB Business Confidence and a more aggressive forecast by ANZ Bank on the RBNZ which it now sees hiking by 50bps in April and May.

FIXED INCOME

• 10yr USTs declined beneath the 128.00 level after yesterday’s bear flattening as oil prices receded from recent highs.
• Bunds retreated below 167.00 but with price action relatively uneventful in comparison to recent moves.
• 10yr JGBs were lacklustre despite the negative risk tone and BoJ’s repurchase agreement for JPY 3tln of government securities lasting between March 9th-10th, while results from the latest 5yr JGB auction were mixed.

COMMODITIES

• WTI and Brent were choppy before eventually notching gains of around 2.0%.
• OPEC Secretary-General Barkindo said they are facing what is likely to be a global game-changer regarding energy transition. Barkindo added they still project continued growth of roughly 4.2mln BPD in 2022 and that the world is facing a possible threat to supply from Russia, while he attended a dinner meeting with US energy executives.
• EU leaders are to agree at a summit this week to 'phase out dependency on Russian gas, oil and coal imports'.
• UK PM Johnson is planning to tap new areas of the North Sea for oil and gas reserves, according to The Times.
• Alberta Premier said the Keystone XL pipeline could be resurrected and finished by Q1 next year if the US wants.
• Venezuelan President Maduro said talks with the US were polite and productive, while negotiations will continue.
• Libya's NOC lifted the force majeure and resumed output at the Sharara oil field.
• Spot gold was rangebound after its brief incursion into the USD 2,000/oz territory which has since provided resistance.
• CME suspended approved status for warranting and delivery of six brands of gold and silver until further notice.
• Goldman Sachs raised its 3-month gold target to USD 2,300/oz from USD 1,950/oz, while it raised its 6-month target to USD 2,500/oz from USD 2,050/oz and raised its 12-month target to USD 2,500/oz from USD 2,150/oz.
• Copper composed itself following yesterday's aggressive pullback from record highs above the USD 5/lb level.
• LME is to implement a backwardation limit and delivery deferral mechanism, as well as amend copper measures.
• Nickel extended on record highs with LME prices gaining over 50% amid supply concerns and talk of a short squeeze.
• CCB International Global Markets received an extension on missed nickel margin calls.
• Iraq allocated USD 100mln to urgently purchase wheat and the Ministry of Commerce is to create a strategic stockpile by importing 3mln tons, according to a statement.

CRYPTO

• Bitcoin was higher overnight and extended above the USD 38,000 level.
• US President Biden is to sign an executive order on cryptocurrencies this week which could occur as early as Wednesday, according to a Reuters source.

NOTABLE APAC HEADLINES

• PBoC injected CNY 10bln via 7-day reverse repos with the rate at 2.10% for a CNY 40bln net drain.
• PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 6.3185 vs exp. 6.3257 (prev. 6.3478)
• Hong Kong may drop mass testing from its priorities in tackling COVID-19, according to local newspaper Ming Pao.

DATA RECAP

• Japanese Current Account (JPY)(Jan) -1188.7B vs. Exp. -880.2B (Prev. -370.8B)
• Japanese Bank Lending YY (Feb) 0.4% (Prev. 0.6%, Rev. 0.5%)
• Australian NAB Business Confidence* (Feb) 13 (Prev. 3, Rev. 4)
• Australian NAB Business Conditions* (Feb) 9 (Prev. 3, Rev. 2)

EU/UK

DATA RECAP

• UK BRC Retail Sales YY (Feb) 2.7% (Prev. 8.1%)